


Lightning in a bottle, Hands on the throttle (written by Alan)

by SAMC_Inc



Category: 5 Seconds of Summer (Band)
Genre: 5 Seconds of Summer - Freeform, 5sauce, 5sos imagine, Ashton Imagine, Ashton ashton ASHton, Ashton baseball, Ashton blurb, F/M, ashton drabble, baseball AU, sports AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-25
Updated: 2015-04-25
Packaged: 2018-03-25 14:58:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3814702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SAMC_Inc/pseuds/SAMC_Inc
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ashton is a baseball player, Calum's your best friend, and this is the last game of the year. Next you'll all be off at college, and it's time for one more big blowout for the team to remember each other. With shirtless boys, mint oreo ice cream, a couple of beers, and a good time, who knows what will happen; especially between you and Ashton.</p>
<p>Or better yet, you've had a crush on Ashton since seventh grade, and Calum's always told you that the brunette has had the hots for you as well; will a summer love ensue?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lightning in a bottle, Hands on the throttle (written by Alan)

**Author's Note:**

> This was is written by me (Alan) for the pure fact that I ALWAYS write Calum (and who doesn't love Ashton?) show me some love :)

You reached up to wipe the beads of sweat from your forehead with the bottom half of your arm, sighing heavily into the humid air that seemed utterly inescapable. You couldn’t imagine how the boys felt playing in this heat, especially with the pants and heavy jersey’s restricting them. The game was almost over though, and you, along with a gaggle of other friends and family, were singsonging quiet prayers that the team would keep their cool long enough to beat their opponent. The other team was doing an immaculate job of not succumbing to the evening heat (despite the fact that they were dripping sweat and obviously fried). They managed to keep the home team on their toes, the score 17 to 16 in the last inning not in their favor, and they only had two more outs to spare. 

“Get ‘em out Cal,” you mumbled, chewing on your thumbnail anxiously as you best friend wound up the pitch. You watched him exhale into the throw, his muscles contracting as the ball rolled away from his palm.

Straight through the strike zone, two more to go and there would only be one out left.

Ashton, perhaps the best catcher the team had seen this year, was crouched behind the batter. He nodded towards Calum, letting the ball fly easily back to him as they exchanged some sort of signal they’d come up with. You rolled your eyes, smiling lightly at the two boys and their antics. Everyone knew that Calum was a talented pitcher, the ball went wherever he told it to, but him and Ashton had at least twenty different signals when Cal only ever did three different throws. You leant up against the wire of the fence, squinting past the sun to watch as Calum relaxed his stance once again. His arms were shiny with sweat, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration, and he had his bottom lip tugged between his teeth thoughtfully. You notice Ashton give the most subtle nod of his head, and then Calum was moving.

Strike two.

The fast kid from the other team ran from second to steal third.

The rest of the boys stood up in the dugout, tossing out words of encouragement to the gangly boy standing on the mound. You caught a flash of white teeth from him, laughing slightly as you watched his ego bubble over. You noticed Ashton scowl at him, almost saying do not let them get to your head or if you lose this for us I will ring your neck. The bases were loaded, it was their last shot at this. You weren’t sure how they were going to get two outs and avoid the other team winning, even the boys waiting on the bases seemed unconfident in their odds, but if anyone could do it they could. 

Before everyone could settle, Calum had thrown the ball perfectly towards home base. The batter should’ve missed with the way he’d been playing, but the ball clunked against the metal bat loudly, and the guys on the bases were off. Somehow, Louis scooped the ball up from his feet at second, managing to get the guy closest to him out with enough time to still send the ball flying at Ashton. He sprung up quickly, managing to step onto home plate and pull the ball out of the air as the player from the other team slid in. The ump called two outs, and then everybody was rushing onto the field and collapsing into a pile on top of Ashton. 

There were handshakes after that, the exchanging of the traditional tell-your-opponent-they-did-good-job-instead-of-laughing-in-their-faces. Eventually, the gate to the fence was opened, and you filed in along with everyone else. It wasn’t hard to find Calum, he was one of the tallest guys on the team, and talking to a group of his teammates about something as per usual. 

“Ladies,” you teased, interjecting your way into their conversation. Calum tackled you in an overly sweaty hug, and you tried in vane to escape his damp embrace. “Let me go I’m going to suffocate.”

He complied eventually, but only after he was positive that you would be covered with the stench of boy sweat. It wasn’t an unfamiliar one sadly, this was the treatment you got after every game, especially after one that it was this hot out. 

“The guys are going out for ice cream and going to a bonfire later to celebrate the end of the season, and because I know you have nothing better to do and also because they wouldn’t stop pestering me, I told them you were coming with us,” Calum chided, beckoning you to follow him as he began walking out of the enclosure. You rolled your eyes at the tan boy’s lack of ‘please’ or any courtesy at all really, following him anyway because-as he had so nicely put it-you had nothing better to do. You hoped that some of the guy’s girlfriends would tag along; even though you didn’t mind just joining in and being one of the guys, it was sometimes nice to have another estrogen filled being close by to help you through the constant dirty jokes and belching contests. 

“I don’t have my car with me, so unless you’re my ride I’m out,” you joked, taking quick steps to keep up with Calum’s long strides. 

“Actually, I rode over with Ashton, but I’m sure he won’t mind driving one extra person,” he teased, tossing a wink at you as your already sunburned cheeks flamed with a blush. Calum was constantly taunting you with the supposed fact that the catcher had the hots for you; you never believed him, but the constant nagging by your best friend had your mind thinking of things that were never going to happen. It wasn’t hard to admit that Ashton was easily one of the most attractive people you’d ever met, but he was him and you were you and that was never ever going to happen, at least not in your mind.

You sighed in exasperation, following Calum out into the parking lot where you assumed Ashton was waiting for him. Sure enough, just as as your feet hit the pavement, a shiny, red convertible was pulling up next to you. The curly headed boy behind the wheel slid out after throwing the transmission into park. He looked from you to Calum, mustering an um while leaning against the closed door. 

“Do you mind Y/N tagging along?” Calum asked, tossing his bag into the trunk, “I promise she’ll only be a little loud and obnoxious.”

You shot Calum a glare as Ashton chuckled, wanting then and there to strangle him. You knew that if you got into the car you were going to undergo an unlimited amount of teasing, and there would be nothing you could do about it. You found yourself hoping that Ashton would just be rude for once in his life and tell you that you weren’t allowed to come into his car for some made up reason.

Obviously that was too much to ask for.

“Of course she can tag along, Y/F/N was just asking if you were going to be there, she does not shut up about you I swear. Though I don’t know why she cares, if the rest of the year is going to be anything like tonight then she won’t be doing much with her mouth except swapping spit with Louis,” he joked, pushing himself off of the shiny red paint job. You choked on a laugh, trying to keep in the chuckle at the jab he’d made at your friend. Y/F/N really was a sweet girl, but Ashton wasn’t wrong. She couldn’t keep her hands to herself, not that Louis was stopping her. Who could blame her though? Especially when the kid waltzed around in baseball pants, you’d be making out with the guy too if you were being constantly tempted by his ass.

You watched as Ashton made his way around the side of the car to where Cal had the trunk popped, and you found yourself admiring the way his leg muscles shifted beneath the tight, white fabric of the baseball pants. He bent over the side for a moment to reach for something in the trunk, and the fabric of his jersey lifted up to reveal the glistening skin of his hip, and a particularly defined V-line that was screaming to be looked at. You exhaled lowly, averting your eyes to the diamond behind you. The rest of the team was filing out now, boys with their shirts unbuttoned and the tails rushing behind them as they sprinted nearer the parking lot. There were the few that were taking the pace a little slower, their arms wrapped neatly around girls waists or shoulders, then there were the stragglers that were either too busy talking to notice that everyone else had left, or were making fun of the guys with girlfriends by wrapping themselves around one another. You shook your head lightly, tsking at the varying levels of immaturity that the boys displayed. This team was like your second family, they had been together since seventh grade, and you’d been their biggest supporter ever since. Now, here you were, senior year at the end of their final season. It couldn’t be more bittersweet. You turned back around to the sound of the trunk closing, being greeted by the sight of the two boys rounding either side of the car.

Shirtless.

“Jesus, fuck,” you yelped, squeezing yours eyes shut as a blush crept further up your neck, “warn a girl before you take off your clothes.”

“Aw, sorry Y/N, didn’t mean to startle you,” Calum teased, “try not to stare too long, might hurt your eyes.”

You fought down the growl in the back of your throat, reaching forward to hit him square in the chest instead. He chuckled lowly as he rubbed the skin, offering you a brief kissy face before hopping over the door of the car. It wasn’t Calum that you were having a problem not staring at; yes Calum had a nice body, well, probably more than nice, but he was your best friend and you’d never really been interested in him like that. Ashton, however, was a completely different story. In one word he was fit, but even that was an understatement. Ashton had always been the example for the other boys, the oldest on the team, and arguably the best, he’d always felt some sort of imaginary pressure to be a model player. This translated into every aspect of his life, including-apparently-his fitness outside of practice. Your gaze raked hungrily across his frame, not even feeling embarrassed in the slightest when he caught your stare.

“She’s not complaining,” Ashton shot back confidently, never letting his eyes escape yours, “in fact she’s probably thinking about hopping on the bandwagon too, right Y/N?”

You laughed nervously, breaking eye contact with the older boy at the suggestive comment. You both heard Calum scoff to himself, and you imagined the younger boy rolling his eyes in defeat. You whacked him over the top of the head, sticking your tongue at him briefly as you opened the door and slid into the backseat. Ashton did the same, collapsing behind the wheel and turning the key. The engine thrummed to life, his foot falling against the accelerator to brag the noise to everyone else around.

“Nice car,” you hummed, catching Ashton’s proud gaze in the rearview mirror.

“My parents bought it for me when I graduated with a 4.0, never got less than a 90% average all the way through high school,” he preened. You snorted, rolling your eyes slightly only to find that Ashton was still looking at you.

Damn.

“Would you two stop eye fucking each other so we can leave,” Calum sneered, waving a hand between the invisible line of sight.You grinned lightly, letting your eyes fall to your lap as Ashton pulled out of the lot. You knew you should be embarrassed, but there was really no reason to be. Ashton was just being himself, his behavior being the same as it had always been towards you. Ashton flirted with everybody, it was in his nature, he’d been like that ever since freshman year when he’d hit puberty early. All the other guys were jealous of his deeper voice and chest hairs, which, in the end, made him the natural born role model of the group. He kept the boys in line, sometimes doing a better job than the coach. He’d always taken a stand for you when needed, treating you as he would a sister. That was the main reason you doubted he had feelings for you, he’d known you for so long, but he’d always treated you more like family.

It didn’t take long for you to reach the local ice cream parlor, and within five minutes everyone was around. They all went inside to order, promises being made of I’ll pay you back later and you owe me anyway. You waited more towards the back, not wishing to be anywhere near the elbow pushing and budging that was taking place near the front. You leaned your elbows against the sticky counter top by the napkins and spoons, biding your time and deciding which flavor sounded most delectable for this days particular heat.

“Well hello again,” a familiar voice said, the heat of another body brushing against your own. You kept your eyes focused on the menu, pretending to be emotionally torn between a hot fudge sundae and a mint Oreo freeze. It wasn’t like your pulse was racing because Ashton was standing so close, that would be stupid.

“You put your shirt back on,” you observed, letting your eyes swim across the bare piece of skin wear the partially unbuttoned shirt lay open. Tan, sweaty, and muscled-

Christ.

“I may have worked here for a few years, but Mrs. Evans will not ever serve a customer if they’re ‘indecent’. So, in the spirit of buying ice cream, yes I put my shirt back on. Don’t act so disappointed,” he teased, smirking as you blushed. You rolled your eyes in mock annoyance, pretending to focus your attention back on the menu. Sadly, you couldn’t focus on anything besides Ashton’s bicep rubbing against yours. “What are you ordering princess?”

“Can’t tell you, I have this rule that I don’t tell people who use pet names personal information,” you teased. Ashton laughed, rolling his eyes as he kicked off of the countertop. He sauntered in the direction of the nearly empty counter with you in tow. 

“I’ll take two mint Oreo freezes please, small,” he said, pushing the correct amount of cash across the freshly cleaned counter top. You gaped at him, wracking your brain for the last time someone had paid for your, well, your anything without asking first.

You couldn’t remember any other time.

“You still remember my favorite ice cream,” you asked incredulously, taking the green colored ice cream from the hands of the cashier. She winked at Ashton while handing him his, making sure that their fingers brushed as he took the treat. You tried to stifle your laugh as he turned away from her poor attempts at flirting to continue talking to you.

“I remember a lot of things about you,” he laughed, “I’ve known you for six years now, I would hope I could remember something as small as your favorite ice cream.”

You placed the spoon against your tongue, pulling it out slowly to ensure you’d gotten every bit of ice cream on it as you pondered that. It was true, you knew Ashton’s favorite ice cream too, granted it was easy to remember since you both shared the same favorite. You made your way outside with the rest of the team, settling at a picnic table across from Louis, Y/F/N, and Calum. Ashton sunk in next to you, his leg brushing yours underneath the table. 

Since when were you so aware of Ashton’s skin on yours?

“You’re here,” Y/F/N squealed, the small brunette making her way around the table to wrap her arms around your neck. You squeezed her as well, mustering a bubbly hello right back at her. She glanced across you at Ashton, wiggling her fingers in a greeting. He smiled towards her, but she was too busy raising a brow at you. You mouthed a ‘later’, and she nodded understandingly. She made her way around the table once again, settling back into her spot with her legs splayed across Louis’s lap. You all ate your ice cream in silence, watching as the sun dipped further and further into the horizon. Not much later, everyone was piling back into their cars, heading over to the Tomlinson residence for the 6th annual bonfire. And the last, you reminded yourself. Calum scowled at you as you stole shot gun, climbing into the backseat with a grumble. Ashton laughed to himself, speeding off into the approaching night with one hand on the wheel. His other hand, coincidentally was brushing against yours near the console. You were almost positive he was looking at your hands more than he was looking at the road, but you made it to the house in one piece, so who were you to complain?

At least half the team was already in the backyard piling logs into a heap when you made it back there, and Ashton and Calum jumped in immediately. Y/F/N made her way over to you, insisting that you explain the whole ‘Ashton thing’. After clearing up that there was no thing-and going through a tremendous amount of blushing-the pair of you talked about the possibilities of what the older boy could possibly be thinking. Maybe he’d liked you for all these years, maybe he was desperate, or maybe this was just one of his brief three day flings he was known so well for. Whatever it was, you decided to keep your thoughts to yourself and let whatever happens happen, though you found yourself hoping that maybe you’d actually get to start college by saying you’d had at least one itsy bitsy little fling.

Not likely.

Eventually the boys got the fire going, and there were cheers all around. Someone pulled an ice chest out of their trunk, passing bottles of beer all around. There were no consequences, no regrets, hell, you were all a step closer to being college students, you might as well start acting like them. However, after one sip, you decided that beer was definitely not your thing, and passed your bottle on to Calum who seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the substance. You sat nearer the fire than those consuming alcohol, enjoying simply watching the chaos that was slowly breaking out of the teammates. You couldn’t believe that these boys were never going to be playing ball together ever again, trying not to get all drippy eyed at the notion.

“Are you crying over here all by yourself?” Ashton chuckled, settling in next to you. You noticed a still full bottle of beer clasped against his palm, the condensation dripping against his fingers.

“Not crying, just have smoke in my eye,” you lied, “beer not your thing either?”

Ashton shook his head reluctantly, wrinkling his nose at the unopened amber liquid. He eyed you momentarily, decidedly popping the cap and offering it to you.

“Here, maybe between the two of us we can finish one. Plug your nose it helps the taste seem not as disgusting.”

You groaned internally, taking the brown bottle reluctantly and hovering it close to your lips. You squeezed your eyes shut, holding your breath as you tilted the bottle back. It still tasted terrible, but Ashton was right, plugging your nose did considerably lessen the taste. So you sat there, passing the bottle of beer back and for the between the two of you, until the last droplets of the liquid were dumped down your throat. 

“That was terrible,” you laughed, wiping your mouth and tossing the bottle into the flame. The noise from the others had grown a few decibels, but somehow everything seemed dull against the crackle of the flame and the intensity of Ashton’s gaze. His eyes were on yours, his head tilted as if he were considering which important topic he wanted to discuss with you. Smiling shyly, you scooted closer to the curly headed boy, your heart hammering in your chest as you curled into his shoulder. He wrapped an arm around you, surprised at your sudden affection. You both sat there, unmoving, backs to the flame as you watched the team joke around in front of you.

They seemed so far away.

“Where are you going to college,” he asked, cautiously twirling a strand of your hair around one of his fingers.

“I thought you said you remembered all the small things about me,” you teased.

“Yes, and if I remember correctly you’ve had the same answer for the last six years. You weren’t going to college, you were going to marry Zayn Malik and he was going to take care of you.”

“That planned hasn’t worked as well as I’d hoped, he got married last summer to some blonde,” you sighed, gesturing wildly as if it was the biggest mistake the multimillionaire could’ve made. Ashton laughed into your hair, and suddenly there were so many questions you wanted to ask him. What did he want to do with his life? What was his biggest regret? How did he know he didn’t like beer without trying it? How many girls has he kissed, and how many had he actually meant? There were so many things, and you wished you’d been learning them over the years. You had so little time, but instead of asking any of the ones that rushed through your brain, you tilted your head to the side to look at him.

“Why now?” you asked, “why this right now. We’ve known each other for six years, how is this the first time I’ve noticed you noticing me?”

“Must be because you saw me shirtless, it changes people,” he teased. You wanted to roll your eyes, you wanted to roll them so hard that they would fall out of your head, but you were too busy staring at Ashton’s parted lips. Before you could even think about moving, the older boy closed the gap, pressing his mouth to yours. You inhaled sharply, hand falling against his chest as he began moving his lips against yours. He tasted strongly of alcohol, hints of mint still evident against his tongue from the earlier frozen treat. That’s not what you were thinking about though, there was no room in your brain to be thinking about what he tasted like; your thoughts were completely over run, your mind being pushed to its limit for there was not enough room to take in all of this. Somehow you managed to keep up with the pace Ashton had created, your own lips rising and falling against his to create a delicious pressure that would’ve made your knees wobble if you were standing. He kept things simple, easy motions and discreet maneuvers the only thing he offered up. It was enough, oh was it enough, and somehow through it all you could feel his heart thundering against your hand.

Unbelievable.

“Oi,” Calum yelled in your direction, “a toast to those two finally doing something.”

The rest of the team cheered, leaving your cheeks pink and your lips tugging into a grin. Ashton laughed as you rested your forehead against the crook of his neck, and you were completely ashamed at the fact that you’d been caught. He pressed a lingering peck to the hinge of your jaw, all before pulling away and heaving himself to standing. He offered you his hand, pulling you up with him and intertwining your fingers. He tugged you in the direction of the crowd, holding you closer as a few more people tossed comments in your direction.

“Don’t listen to them,” he whispered into your hair, “they’re just jealous because you’re the prettiest girl here.”

You shook your head lightly, knowing full well that Ashton had probably said that to 90% of the other girls in the vicinity, but you didn't care. All you could feel was the buzz at the tips of your fingers, and the tingle to your lips. This probably wasn’t going to last more than a week, for all you knew Ashton was interested in someone else, but for now it was you he had under his wing, and it was you that was making him grin like an idiot. However long that lasted, it was enough, because life was too short to worry about how long things would last. How could you enjoy your life if you were constantly worried it would all come crashing down? You couldn’t was you told yourself, and so you let yourself enjoy the feeling of Ashton’s thumb rubbing the top of your hand, and you embraced the taste of the air in that moment. You wanted to remember it, because in that moment, you had everything you’d ever need.


End file.
